Since the other thread is being cruelly ignored, here's a fresh one that may be more to your tastes. The Lone Ranger is being made. Depp did take a salary cut to get it going. And it's going to be done his way, not unsurprisingly: That approach seems necessary anway, given the age difference - Depp is old enough to be Hammer's father. The plausible way to do this is for The Lone Ranger to be Luke to Tonto's Obi-Wan, a greenhorn who could get himself in trouble if not for his more experienced mentor. If that's what they have in mind, it's an interesting way to revitalize the story and I'm looking forward to it.
That's certainly an interesting approach, and not inconsistent with Lone Ranger mythology. Tonto saved his life, leading to him adopting the Lone Ranger identity; mentoring could certainly be a part of the process and relationship.
I'm glad to hear they were able to get the film moving again; of Depp's various upcoming projects, I was looking forward to The Lone Ranger a lot more than Dark Shadows or yet another Pirates sequel. Depp's use of the word "humor" worries me a bit, though. While I don't want to see The Lone Ranger all dark and gritty like Nolan's Bat-films, neither do I want to see this end up a clusterfuck along the lines of The Green Hornet.
^Which is ironic in that the Green Hornet is a descendant of the Lone Ranger in certain continuities.
So, a friend and I were debating this lately: is it "heigh-ho, Silver" or "hi-yo, Silver"? I believe we concluded that, actually, it was originally "Hi-yo, Silver" but pretty much everyone in the world remembers it incorrectly as "hi-ho, Silver."
I refuse to debate the etymological correctness of "hi ho Silver." And I furthermore refuse to look up "etymological" to see whether it even makes sense in that sentence.
I don't have a problem with making Tonto more prominent and an equal partner to the Lone Ranger, but it's sounding more and more like this is going to be "The Tonto story", which I can't say interests me all that much. Of course with Verbinski involved I can't help but think this is just going to be another huge, overblown Pirates-style mess anyway...
Jerry Bruckheimer talks the cuts and the release date. The train scene remains intact, supernatural coyotes (were-coyotes?) have been cut. http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=83332
As I understand it, the established canon is this: Capt. William Reid led a posse of Texas Rangers (including his brother John) that was ambushed by the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang, or the Gang that Couldn't Shoot Straight, or whoever. All were killed except John Reid, who was wounded and left for dead. After being found and nursed back to health by Tonto, he assumed the Lone Ranger identity. Britt Reid, aka the Green Hornet, is Capt. William Reid's grandson, making him the Lone Ranger's grandnephew. The timeline fits, with roughly two generations between the 1880s and the 1930s. Good grief! What's next -- The Lone Ranger, Vampire Hunter?
I get the feeling that Depp told Disney that he would only do a Pirates 5 if Disney made Lone Ranger. Jerry Bruckheimer was able to bring the budget down to 215 million. That's not quite as ridiculous when compared to the original 260 millon. It is amazing that this movies costs so much more than the first Pirates of the Caribbean.
If not supernatural coyotes i'm sure the werewolves will still make it. For those that don't know. http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2011/08/dances_with_wer.php
ugh. The Lone Ranger doesn't need supernatural aspects. i'm fine with Tonto taking center stage but don't add things that don't belong.
If he wanted to throw his weight around, he could have refused to take a pay cut. I don't think he played hardball - he just organized a huge concession for Disney in the pay cuts, which is in itself great PR for the movie - greedy Hollywood bastards taking pay cuts to get a movie made? Isn't that one of the Seven Signs of the Apocalypse? That must be one great script! And now Disney knows that Depp sort of owes them, and he'd be less likely to kick up a fuss in future negotiations. If the movie tanks, then he really owes them. If the movie is a success, then Disney makes money. It's a no-lose for Disney! Hey, my guess about The Lone Ranger = Luke and Tonto = Obi-Wan was right on the money! And this actually sounds like a pretty good idea. For Native American mysticism to be introduced into the story is enough justification for werewolves and other supernatural critters. It isn't a subject that has been done to death. This could be good. I hope they treat things fairly seriously and don't turn it into a POTC style farce. Humor is good, farce not so much.